BARING IT by Cheryl G. Ruby The rainy season waning, I was ready for some exercise and fun. The hike had been on our calendars for a long time; Rich was really looking forward to it. He assured me that I could wear shoes and not be treated as an outcast. Off we drove through the chilly but blissfully sunny Sunday morning, down into the chilly shade of the redwood forest to Big Basin. Of the houses we passed along the route, only those with smoke curling from chimneys looked appealing. We arrived. Breath clouds were coming from people's mouths. Pleasantly sitting in the car, I looked around to see if each newcomer might be one of the barefooters. Alas, they all seemed dressed for the weather, with warm, cozy hiking boots. As I stepped onto the cold pavement, gravel hurt my feet. My trepidation set in and I began considering the barefooters "crazy" people. The parking official noticed us with quiet amusement. A couple of South Bay Naturists arrived. I put my thongs on as a compromise between bare feet and real shoes. Much better. Down the road came Paul, the instigator of the trek. I knew it was he before I even saw his feet, because he touched something in me I had not felt since the 70's. His appearance threw me back then for a moment: his long hair, his peaceful, quiet, yet purposeful demeanor. Another man, then a woman followed, all with bare feet. After they moved the car, out came two children, Gareth and Gillian, ages around 10 and 8, both armed with walking sticks. As I expressed my fears at being able to hike barefoot, Gareth told me it would be fine, I just needed to get my core temperature up. I kicked off my thongs for a photo of the group, now numbering 13: 11 barefooted, one sandaled and one wearing hiking boots. Deciding to give it a try, I began the hike barefoot. After all, I could always put my thongs back on. With Mike leading, we hiked single file. Leaving the pavement I was pleasantly surprised to find how much warmer the ground was. Almost immediately, my feet were comfortable enough to receive the coolness of the forest floor as the wonderful luxurious carpet that it was. Feeling the moist, firmly packed earth under my feet, I felt very grounded. In many places, soft branches and feathery leaves covered the trail. The first time we encountered mud was interesting, resulting in some people slushing through it, some choosing another path. A discussion of the benefits and the negatives of mud slushing followed. I chose the muddy route and found mud squishing through my toes to be very sensuous. That's when I realized that I really liked this and appreciated myself for taking the risk. The miles went by as wonderful conversations pervaded the group. I was amazed at the camaraderie that was building. I was very much impressed with the closeness of Paul, Maggie, Mike, and his children. I had the impression that they had known each other for years and was shocked to find out that just met. Mike had first met Paul and Maggie when their flights arrived at the airport; Paul had met Maggie on one other hike. I liked how Maggie was nurturant with the children and how they respected her. I felt this warmth extending and including us. The pace of the day was gentle, with many stops along the way to enjoy scenery, chat, rest, and take pictures. About half way, one couple decided to walk back because the woman, who was ill when the hike began, was now feeling worse. They waited for us in the parking lot and continued with the group through the remaining activities regardless of a long drive home. We made a refreshing stop at a creek, where we washed off mud, crossed its bridge and enjoyed sack lunches. The hike continued with the children (with amazing stamina) blazing the trail, often so far ahead as to be out of sight. I got very warm and there was about half an hour in which it was hard to stay dressed. I changed from the sweats in which I had begun hiking into my shorts and T-shirt saying, "I wear my T-shirt when I'm with you and my birthday suit when I'm with the skinny-dippers." My shirt was well appreciated by the barefooters who donned their own saying "Go Barefoot!" on the front and "Set your feet free and your mind will follow" on the back. Since during the past few years most of my hiking is done nude except for shoes, it felt very strange to have this reversed. Clothing which had brought me comfort in the chilly morning now felt like an obstruction. Most portions of my body were missing and craving the gentle breezes that were blowing by my arms. I re-experienced how sweating in clothes felt, and thought of how the breezes usually help the sweat to naturally cool me, as Rich has taught me. People we met along the trail reacted to our bare feet with as much astonishment as those we met when hiking nude on other occasions. One woman took off her shoes after seeing our group, which reminded me of the woman who got nude after seeing us at Bass Lake. This year's winter storms had downed several trees, so there were a couple places on the trail where we needed to climb over them. We hiked a loop of about 9 miles, encountering mud a few times, but most was on packed earth with more or less redwood carpeting and periodic opportunities to walk on moss-covered downed trees. We got back to the parking lot around 4 p.m., about an hour later than originally planned due to our leisurely pace and the extra time for maneuvering around trees. This late completion felt great, although it meant we would not enjoy any sun that day and those touring Santa Cruz got a late start. We took a poll to see how many would be accepting Rich's invitation to Lupin for dinner and hot-tubbing, and were pleasantly surprised to find that almost everyone would be joining us! Rich passed out maps and directions to Lupin and we went directly, the others planning to join us later. Arriving at Lupin, I found that I needed my shoes to walk across the gravel parking lot. After 9 miles in forest my feet had been spoiled by kind surfaces. We reserved a large table in the restaurant, showered and tubbed with other SBN friends who arrived, then went to the restaurant to await the arrival of the barefoot group. Given the heavy traffic from Santa Cruz, we were not concerned when our new friends missed their scheduled arrival time. We ordered dinner. As we sat nude, at the big table, thoughts that maybe they just weren't up for it or they were having too much fun to leave Santa Cruz crept into my mind. Our dinners came, and we had begun eating when the restaurant door opened and our guests popped in! I was delighted by the fast service in the uncrowded restaurant, so soon everyone was happily eating away. The next time I looked, I was pleasantly surprised to see that some of our barefoot guests had taken off their clothes. From earlier discussions I knew that this was a new experience for them. The bonding I had felt earlier sharing their activity came back and I found myself in a very festive mood for sharing something near and dear to me with them, and seeing them enjoy it. Naturists and barefooters took turns playing the baby grand piano which greatly contributed to our festivities. After dinner the early arrivals left, and Rich and I escorted the remaining group to the lower pool, hot tub and shower. The children were very excited to hear that there was a heated pool and could hardly wait. We enjoyed sharing this part of Lupin with them and they enjoyed their visit. The only disappointment was Gillian's realization that she had left her precious ring, given to her by her best friend, behind in the restaurant. The chef opened the door for us and we all looked but didn't find it. We left in hopes that it had been turned in to the office. Rich called later but it had not. We regretted when people with long drives to Stockton and Concord needed to be on their way. With lots of hugs and good wishes we bid our new friends farewell, more fun tomorrow and safe trips back to Pennsylvania and Illinois. Rich and I left with full hearts for having made new friends with like interests and sensitivities. We wish they all lived closer. Ironically our feet felt fine but Rich and I hobbled around with sore leg muscles for three days. As far as barefooting goes, I'm going to continue to experiment.